Concept Note THE SANTO DOMINGO PACT AND MANAGUA MECHANISM: A PARTNERSHIP AND MONITORING MECHANISM FOR THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA Developing a regional partnership in Central and the Caribbean in an effort to combat illicit drug trafficking and transnational organized crime Phase I‐ March 2010 –February 2013 27 JANUARY 2010 (DRAFT) I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 3 II. BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................... 3 III. LEGAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................... 4 IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE SANTO DOMINGO AND MANAGUA PARTNERSHIP AND MONITORING MECHANISM............................................................................................................................ 5 V. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE SANTO DOMINGO PACT AND MANAGUA PARTNERSHIP AND MONITORING MECHANISM....................................................................... 6 VI. KEY ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................... 9 VII. KEY OUTCOMES ............................................................................................................... 10 VIII. PRIORITY ACTIONS AND TIMELINE FOR THE START‐UP OF THE SDP/MM......................... 11 IX. BENEFICIARIES .................................................................................................................. 12 X. MONITORING, REVIEW, REPORTING AND EVALUATION..................................................... 13 2 I. Executive Summary The Santo Domingo Pact and Managua Partnership and Monitoring Mechanism (the SDP/MM) is a technical assistance inter‐regional programme with the objective of facilitating periodical consultations and strategic partnerships at the expert and policy levels in order to more effectively identify and implement coordinated responses to illicit trafficking and transnational organized crime affecting the Caribbean and Central America. The SDP/MM is a tool that helps develop and reinforce regional and international partnerships, as well as foster increased information sharing/exchange, thus strengthening data collection and analytical capacities related to drug trafficking and serious transnational organized crime, including the illicit traffic of firearms and human beings, as well as money‐laundering and corruption. It aims at providing efficient technical assistance to SDP/MM partner countries in order to facilitate their efforts in ratifying and implementing relevant provisions of existing international drug and crime conventions and universal instruments against terrorism. Additionally, it will promote UNODC technical assistance and specialized training programmes for law enforcement agencies and the judiciary on investigation and prosecution measures. The SDP/MM will promote the coordination of technical assistance in the field of counter narcotics and the fight against transnational organized crime through the use of an internet‐ based automated donor assistance mechanism, more commonly known as ADAM. This concept was initially developed under the Paris Pact Initiative to assist countries in the Eurasian region. Despite continued operational success under the Paris Pact initiative, development of a similar tool under the SDP/MM will need to take the unique complexities of the Central American and Caribbean regions into account. In this regard, due attention will be paid to the fact that transit countries in the region are generally small developing states which have fallen victim to increasing levels of violence and an erosion of both Government and civil society institutions. The SDP/MM will also function as a source of normative assistance through the provision of expert advice and training concerned with implementing existing international legal instruments pertaining to drugs and organized crime. Special attention will be given to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the three Conventions on drug control, as well as the 16 universal instruments against terrorism. II. Background Central America and the Caribbean lie at the geographical intersection between the world’s largest cocaine producers, namely the Andean countries and the Southern Cone, and the world’s largest drug consumers, namely the USA and Europe, yet the region lacks the capacity to adequately address the challenges that illicit drug transit present. Drug‐related crimes, and the associated violence that this fuels in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico, threaten public safety and security and are impeding economic, social and political development. Narco‐ trafficking directly threatens urban security as gang violence and gun‐related crime are on the rise. Some neighbourhoods in the Central American and the Caribbean regions are comparable to combat zones. Parts of these two regions record the highest murder rates worldwide; kidnappings, robberies and violence, especially among youth, are part of everyday life. The region is trapped in a vicious circle of weak governance and law enforcement capacity, rising 3 corruption and rampant money‐laundering; this enables drug trafficking and undermines rule of law and economic prosperity which inevitably further compounds the problem of criminal activity. The growing West African narcotics trade is indicative of an increasing problem as narco‐ criminal activities are now crossing the Atlantic. West Africa is the latest victim being exploited by Latin American drug traffickers who are cashing in on a relatively strong euro combined with a growing demand for cocaine in Europe. In the past five years, the amount of cocaine transiting this vulnerable coastline has grown exponentially. Importantly, there are presently three major trafficking routes from South America to the United States and Europe: (1) a Pacific route towards the United States and Canada via Central America and Mexico; (2) a Caribbean route via the Caribbean islands towards the United States and Europe; and (3) a Caribbean route via West Africa to Europe. Tackling the threat of narco‐trafficking in Central America and the Caribbean is a shared responsibility. No country is immune from the problem as all are involved either as a source, transit, or destination countries. The transnational nature of the problem requires an integrated regional approach, as well as comprehensive regional cooperation through, for example, UNODC, the Merida Initiative, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Central American Integration System (SICA) and other regional information sharing mechanisms. Particularly since the Caribbean and Central American regions are generally considered to be heavily affected by the transit of illicit drug trafficking, solid partnerships with regional organizations that extend to both origin and destination countries are critical. The SDP/MM initiative will only be as strong as the will of its partners, and in this regard close cooperation with existing regional initiatives will be reinforced and strongly encouraged. III. Legal Framework During the Ministerial Conference on Illicit Drug Trafficking, Transnational Organized Crime, and Terrorism as Challenges for Security and Development in the Caribbean, held 17‐20 February 2009 in Santo Domingo, a Political Declaration (which inter alia also endorses the Plan of Action for the Caribbean) was signed by the Caribbean Member States for joint action to combat drug trafficking and related organized crime, setting the legal basis for the Santo Domingo Partnership and Monitoring Mechanism. A similar Political Declaration and Regional Programme were approved at the Ministerial Conference on Illicit Drug Trafficking, Transnational Organized Crime, and Terrorism as Challenges for Security and Development in Central America, held 23‐24 June 2009 in Managua, Nicaragua. These two Political Declarations clearly reflect the full commitment of the Caribbean and Central American countries for joint activities and programmes related to countering drug trafficking and related organized crime. This commitment formalizes the framework of the Santo Domingo Pact and Managua Mechanism, and so both individual countries, as well as the region more generally, will serve as joint operators and beneficiaries of UNODC technical assistance. 4 During the 52nd Commission on Narcotic Drugs, held in Vienna from 11‐20 March 2009, Member States approved Resolution L.21 which established the “Follow‐up to the Ministerial Conference on Illicit Drug Trafficking, Transnational Organized Crime, and Terrorism as Challenges for Security and Development in the Caribbean”, therein requesting UNODC to develop a partnership and monitoring mechanism while urging Member States of the Commission to provide voluntary contributions and technical assistance for the implementation of the project. Similarly, Resolution L.9 was also approved during the 18th annual session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Vienna from 16 to 24 April 2009, which supports the establishment of the Santo Domingo Pact. IV. Objectives of the Santo Domingo and Managua Partnership and Monitoring Mechanism The overall objective is to help governments of the Caribbean and Central American regions